Dutch Oraclehttp://dutchoracle.com
Global Business Expansion Consulting and Accredited Family Office AdvisorsThu, 10 Mar 2016 18:12:57 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.3.11http://dutchoracle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/7028101-150x150.pngDutch Oraclehttp://dutchoracle.com
3232Becoming an Expert at Alternative Investinghttp://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/10/01/becoming-an-expert-at-alternative-investing/
http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/10/01/becoming-an-expert-at-alternative-investing/#commentsThu, 01 Oct 2015 20:39:41 +0000http://dutchoracle.com/?p=53According to the latest World Wealth Report 2013 by CapGemini & RBC, 10.1% of the total net worth of HNWI is invested in “Alternative Investments”, excluding real estate. If your investments are some reflection of these global statistics, you will agree that this highly interesting, lucrative asset class requires a different approach and additional skill[...]

According to the latest World Wealth Report 2013 by CapGemini & RBC, 10.1% of the total net worth of HNWI is invested in “Alternative Investments”, excluding real estate.

If your investments are some reflection of these global statistics, you will agree that this highly interesting, lucrative asset class requires a different approach and additional skill set than the traditional ones.

In the past several years, I have dedicated my professional time to try to master this growing asset class of “Alternatives”. Even though my education and experience gave me an excellent starting point, I still ran into the following reoccurring challenges:

Where do you find these great, quality, opportunities to invest in? The Internet is full of suggestions and people looking for capital and local pitch events are okay. But mostly it is non-personal, non- exclusive and not always of great quality either. Generally, by the time these opportunities reach the average investor, the better ones are cherry-picked by others and not (widely) available.

Once you have created some consistent deal flow, how do you assess each deal? How can you do this methodically and relatively quick for the 1st screening filter? (Avoid burning all your precious time to review countless deals).

Then, when you have these investments in your portfolio, how do you manage, oversee and continuously re-assess its progress. Grow them?

From my earlier days as professional investment manager, I learned that avoiding the “Black Hole Investments” is more important than picking a winner. This is especially true in the group of alternative assets. Another key element to success is to collaborate with other successful people, to share knowledge, connections and opportunities. Ultimately it’s experience and exposure to high quality deals that made me realize when certain opportunities stand out against others. You need to be able to compare prospective deals over time, with a solid 3 dimensional point of reference.

For many high net worth individuals and families it is hard to find or access focused expertise in the non mainstream assets category, let alone tailored help to their specific situation. In fact, there are very few accredited Family Office Managers in the world… people who are trained and accustomed to managing large scale complicated investment portfolios for families and individuals.

The skill and education necessary to become competent at Alternative Investments goes far beyond a university degree. Time in the trenches and solid deal flow is critical to building the necessary experience.

For more information, search the internet for family office consultants or alternative investment analysts.

Andre Voskuil is known as The Dutch Oracle for his accurate predictions and mentorship of his Inner Circle clients. Find out more about Andre at http://www.DutchOracle.com

]]>http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/10/01/becoming-an-expert-at-alternative-investing/feed/0HOW DO BILLIONAIRES INVEST?http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/how-do-billionaires-invest/
http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/how-do-billionaires-invest/#commentsWed, 09 Sep 2015 16:40:45 +0000http://dutchoracle.com/?p=32This week I got a hold of the newly published Billionaire Census from Wealth-X and UBS. It revealed that the 2,325 world’s richest people are holding an average of $600 million in cash – each. That equates to about 19% of their total net worth. It’s roughly a 10% jump from the year before. Somewhat[...]

]]>This week I got a hold of the newly published Billionaire Census from Wealth-X and UBS. It revealed that the 2,325 world’s richest people are holding an average of $600 million in cash – each. That equates to about 19% of their total net worth. It’s roughly a 10% jump from the year before. Somewhat surprisingly perhaps, it’s also 5 times more than their real estate holdings. Staggering statistics, but what could we derive from this information?

I’m hawking the global financial trends and have conversations with many of the brightest professionals and investors in the world. Many interpret the stockpile of cash on the sidelines as a potential influx to drive stock prices even higher. Without a doubt there is a lot of money that needs to make some decent yield. With stock prices at an all-time high, interest rates (and bond returns) near an all-time low; every asset class seems squeezed for the last drop of low-risk return.

And yet, the billionaires (and their top notch advisors) are still on the sidelines for almost 20% of their holdings, and growing. They are well aware that inflation is slowly diminishing their capital power. But they haven’t found a better alternative yet – but surely are on the lookout every day.

I personally am of the opinion that the cash reserves will actually drive the appetite for more risky investments. However, likely not so much in the traditional assets such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Risk versus rewards ratios have already been pushed to outer boundaries. The class of private investments (also referred to as Direct Investments) still has many new and undiscovered gems. This asset class is growing and will surely continue to grow. Plus, in today’s global economy, cash is easily moved past borders. It can quite easily be invested in another country than our own. The world has become a smaller place.

There is currently a growing trend whereby wealthy individuals, Family Offices and fund managers are sharing investments in private deals. These syndicates or co-investments used to be reserved for the haut-finance world. With so much cash actively seeking alternative opportunities to make a return, the money is collaborating to identify these deals and take advantage of them.

These opportunities are widely available, from local start-ups to larger private equity deals. It provides a tremendous chance to be part of the next big thing, before it becomes as big as Google or Amazon. The trick is to cherry pick the very best opportunities, negotiate a Shark-like deal and use your connections to help the investment succeed. That’s why the Billionaires have 46.7% of their assets in private investment holdings. And a war chest of $600 million each to deploy. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all have that problem? We would syndicate together and seek the best opportunities in the world to put our money to work.

]]>http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/how-do-billionaires-invest/feed/0CAN ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS BE TAX EFFICIENT?http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/can-alternative-investments-be-tax-efficient/
http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/can-alternative-investments-be-tax-efficient/#commentsWed, 09 Sep 2015 16:40:13 +0000http://dutchoracle.com/?p=30In Canada the answer to the question is quite likely yes! The challenge in Canada is the complexity of the tax environment given the two layers of government involved in reaching in to your pocket. I am certainly not an accountant or a tax planner, but a few things you should know about if you[...]

The challenge in Canada is the complexity of the tax environment given the two layers of government involved in reaching in to your pocket.

I am certainly not an accountant or a tax planner, but a few things you should know about if you don’t already is that the government gives you a tax break on small business investments.

The Alternative Investment sphere is often a very creative space where a willing investor meets an entrepreneur and an agreement is stitched together that solves a few problems – cash for the entrepreneur and a return for the investor.

In some specific instances, the investor may very likely qualify for Canada’s Business Capital Gains exemption. There are some rules, one of which is you must be a shareholder in the company. That alone narrows down your options in terms of how the deal is structured but lets face it, no matter what the deal is, if your return is tax exempt, what else is there to think about.

The lifetime exemption is now $800,000 per person, a massive amount of savings.

You obviously need to get professional advice in regards to your personal situation, but if you are investing in businesses in Canada you need to make sure you can capitalise on this opportunity. Who knows how long it will be there for.

]]>http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/can-alternative-investments-be-tax-efficient/feed/0MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTIONhttp://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/media-release-for-immediate-distribution/
http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/media-release-for-immediate-distribution/#commentsWed, 09 Sep 2015 16:39:39 +0000http://dutchoracle.com/?p=28Finding the Smart Money. Kelowna, Canada, September 18 2014 Your Grandfather may have told you the first $1 was the hardest to make and the rest would be easier. He may have been accurate in his day, but entrepreneurs are finding it harder to access capital for their new ventures and the increased competition means[...]

Your Grandfather may have told you the first $1 was the hardest to make and the rest would be easier. He may have been accurate in his day, but entrepreneurs are finding it harder to access capital for their new ventures and the increased competition means their business plan can sometimes get pushed to the bottom of the pile or even straight into the waste pile pretty quickly.

Alternative Investment Strategist, André Voskuil knows this all too well. Known as the Dutch Oracle because of his accurate predictions in relation to finance and investments André see hundreds of “filtered” investment opportunities year after year and very few impress him!

“It is not always about a cool idea which is on the cutting edge, it is about the thought process” says André, adding “too many times I see a great idea with no thought to corporate governance, or a valuation which is a figure plucked out of thin air. If those parameters happen to be in place, there is a good chance the key players and finance strategies are lacking”. At the end of the day, André knows if these parameters are inadequate, funding is going to be a challenge to say the least.

For this reason, André and partner Mark Jennings-Bates have launched the Dutch Oracle Deal Vault to assist entrepreneurs in finding capital for their plans. “We are excited to offer this to clients who we have not been able to assist in the past. Our core expertise is in serving André’s Inner Circle clients who want us to isolate the best opportunities. Adding the Dutch Oracle Deal Vault in to our quiver simply expands on a service we are offering to others” says Jennings-Bates.

The Dutch Oracle Deal Vault gives entrepreneurs unique access to high net worth global investors and Family Offices who use the platform to identify potential investments. The subscriber is able to pitch their opportunity to various individuals and offices in the Vault and participate in a unique Dutch Oracle Web Forum to gain more experience and exposure for their business.

The service is enhanced through the provision of some incredible Intellectual Property from André’s office. In order to assist entrepreneurs, at sign up, they will also be given some tips and “inside help” on how to pitch their offering, including Dutch Oracle’s unique due diligence matrix – the same document André himself uses to analyse business opportunities.

To find out more, go to www.BusinessInvesting.club

-30-

André Voskuil is a leading Alternative Investment strategist who specialises in counseling his Inner Circle clients in regards to their specific investments in this exciting class of opportunities. You can find out more about André at www.dutchoracle.com

]]>http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/media-release-for-immediate-distribution/feed/0DESTRUCTIVE INNOVATIONhttp://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/destructive-innovation/
http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/destructive-innovation/#commentsWed, 09 Sep 2015 16:39:06 +0000http://dutchoracle.com/?p=26Last week we had the privilege of speaking at a Board of Trade business awards dinner. We talked about Innovation and Collaboration which are two very interesting words that require one other important word – cooperation. In so many facets of our lives we deal with Cooperation Agreements, yet in actual fact they are in[...]

]]>Last week we had the privilege of speaking at a Board of Trade business awards dinner.

We talked about Innovation and Collaboration which are two very interesting words that require one other important word – cooperation.

In so many facets of our lives we deal with Cooperation Agreements, yet in actual fact they are in pure form a Non-Cooperation Agreement. They have a habit of being formal documents which define what we won’t do together instead of what we will do together.

The problem we believe stems from the fact that we see ourselves as partners in an agreement, fighting to stake out our turf rather than team players on the same team fighting for the ultimate objective.

At the end of the day, if you research Innovation you will find that the rule of 3 M’s applies:

You will either MAKE the future, MEET the future or MISS the future.

I found the contrast between Innovation and Traditional models very interesting take a look at the columns below and make a determination of where you sit in your organisation. Are you fighting to “sustain” or to “innovate”?

In the end, the quest to reach profitability, stability and execute a business plan reduces divergent thinking which allows entrepreneurs to explore the peripheries of their model and tune in to innovation with disruptive thinking.

]]>http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/destructive-innovation/feed/0GIVING YOU YOUR OWN PERSONAL DEAL ROOM!http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/giving-you-your-own-personal-deal-room/
http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/giving-you-your-own-personal-deal-room/#commentsWed, 09 Sep 2015 16:37:58 +0000http://dutchoracle.com/?p=24At Dutch Oracle our goal is to provide our corporate venture clients with the best tools and strategies to allow them to develop a winning plan when it comes to their alternative investment strategies. Because we work in the investment market place we often are asked to finance companies. While we run due diligence on[...]

]]>At Dutch Oracle our goal is to provide our corporate venture clients with the best tools and strategies to allow them to develop a winning plan when it comes to their alternative investment strategies.

Because we work in the investment market place we often are asked to finance companies. While we run due diligence on behalf of our Inner Circle clients and advise them on appropriate investments, brokering capital rounds for clients is not our forté.

We have however been working very hard to address that weakness in the market, finding contributing capital, and we now have the answer.

In recent months we have partnered up with one of the world’s leading cloud based market places for high end family offices and high net worth investors. We have been piloting ideas and packaging a solution for our clients who otherwise fall through a very large crack.

In the next ten days we will be rolling out our “Dutch Oracle Deal Vault”. It will be a portal where you can upload your own business plan or expansion plan and expose it to a host of sophisticated investors. We are thrilled to bring this to market and we already know it will be a huge success because of the feedback we have been getting in our trials.

Once you have subscribed you will have your own personal “deal room” that you manage. As part of the package we are going to give you some tips and advice and you will also be able to access our “Dutch Oracle Forum” where you can network with other like minded individuals and ask for the occasional wisdom from André Voskuil who will be dropping in from time to time to answer some of your important questions.

We are very excited to unveil this platform to you in the next few days… stay tuned! And of course, we will have first dips on the best of the best investment opportunities for our own account and Inner Circle investor clients.

]]>http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/giving-you-your-own-personal-deal-room/feed/0MISSING THE BOAT?http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/missing-the-boat/
http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/missing-the-boat/#commentsWed, 09 Sep 2015 16:37:29 +0000http://dutchoracle.com/?p=22A rising tide floats all boats, right? Well, apparently not, and you may be someone who feels like you always missed the boat with your investments. Perhaps you were in too late, out too early, or never in at all. What is the secret? There is no secret other than that timing of an investment[...]

]]>A rising tide floats all boats, right? Well, apparently not, and you may be someone who feels like you always missed the boat with your investments. Perhaps you were in too late, out too early, or never in at all.

What is the secret?

There is no secret other than that timing of an investment takes a lot of hard work, let alone finding the right opportunity in the first place.

The fundamental risk versus reward curve is almost always the same on the life cycle of any business; the earlier you are in, the greater potential reward, along with the higher risk.

The problem is knowing early enough that an entrepreneur is looking for money.

At DutchOracle, our global “deal room” allows us to evaluate opportunities from around the world and run our exhaustive due diligence program to see if the project matches our “screen”.

Our screen comprises of a set of criteria designed to ensure a proposal meets our fundamental requirements before we roll up our sleeves and start talking to the promoters of the opportunity.

When we talk to potential clients we find their problem is often not having a pipeline of quality deals, which means by the time they hear about a project it may be too late on the investment cycle for them to invest.

Different investors and institutions want to look at providing financing at different strategic points in the growth of a company. At Dutch Oracle we favour being quite early on the curve but only when certain critical areas have been researched, analysed and the correct organsiational support is in place. The second important element we want in place is to know ahead of time when we get out?

This definitive criteria is what makes our “Inner Circle” clients come back year after year. They like to ensure that we increase the number of quality opportunities to select from and assist them in getting on the boat.

]]>http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/missing-the-boat/feed/0DUTCH ORACLE DEALShttp://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/dutch-oracle-deals/
http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/dutch-oracle-deals/#commentsWed, 09 Sep 2015 16:36:48 +0000http://dutchoracle.com/?p=20You may find yourself asking what do we do here at Dutch Oracle – well here is the answer: When you are stewarding substantial wealth, the investment spectrum becomes more complex. Exposure to venture capital, start-ups, private equity, derivatives and hedge funds has grown substantially for most wealth owners. Non-mainstream assets and investments are increasingly[...]

]]>You may find yourself asking what do we do here at Dutch Oracle – well here is the answer:

When you are stewarding substantial wealth, the investment spectrum becomes more complex. Exposure to venture capital, start-ups, private equity, derivatives and hedge funds has grown substantially for most wealth owners. Non-mainstream assets and investments are increasingly part of many portfolios.
According to the latest World Wealth Report 2013 by CapGemini & RBC, 10.1% of the total net worth of HNWI is invested in “Alternative Investments”, excluding real estate.

If your investments are some reflection of these global statistics, you will agree that this highly interesting, lucrative asset class requires a different approach and additional skill set than the traditional ones.

In the past several years, I have dedicated my professional time to try to master this growing asset class of “Alternatives”. Even though my education and experience gave me an excellent starting point, I still ran into the following reoccurring challenges:

Where do you find these great, quality, opportunities to invest in? The Internet is full of suggestions and people looking for capital and local pitch events are okay. But mostly it is non-personal, non- exclusive and not always of great quality either. Generally, by the time these opportunities reach the average investor, the better ones are cherry-picked by others and not (widely) available.

Once you have created some consistent deal flow, how do you assess each deal? How can you do this methodically and relatively quick for the 1st screening filter? (Avoid burning all your precious time to review countless deals).

Then, when you have these investments in your portfolio, how do you manage, oversee and continuously re-assess its progress. Grow them?

From my earlier days as professional investment manager, I learned that avoiding the “Black Hole Investments” is more important than picking a winner. This is especially true in the group of alternative assets. Another key element to success is to collaborate with other successful people, to share knowledge, connections and opportunities. Ultimately it’s experience and exposure to high quality deals that made me realize when certain opportunities stand out against others. You need to be able to compare prospective deals over time, with a solid 3 dimensional point of reference.

Being active as an investor, deal scout and sometimes business consultant, I regularly act as trusted sounding board for Family Offices and individual wealth owners regarding their (often complex) non-traditional assets. For many high net worth individuals and families it is hard to find or access focused expertise in the non mainstream assets category, let alone tailored help to their specific situation.

If you have such assets in your portfolio or are pursuing alternative investments, like me, you would greatly benefit from the solution I created for my private investment company DutchOracle Capital. The purpose is to save you lots of time, massively increase the number and quality of transactions to choose from, improve the chances of profit by co-investing and sharing knowledge and connections, confidently negotiate terms, open doors and opportunities on an international scale.

]]>http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/dutch-oracle-deals/feed/0FINDING THE RIGHT ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT DEALhttp://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/finding-the-right-alternative-investment-deal/
http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/finding-the-right-alternative-investment-deal/#commentsWed, 09 Sep 2015 16:36:06 +0000http://dutchoracle.com/?p=18With the upswing in interest for Alternative Investments, particularly from HNW clients, you may ask yourself, “how do I get involved?” According to the RBC World Wealth Report in 2013 as much as 10.1% of HNW individual investments are in the alternative investments category. Global instability and over valued bond and equity markets may be[...]

]]>With the upswing in interest for Alternative Investments, particularly from HNW clients, you may ask yourself, “how do I get involved?”

According to the RBC World Wealth Report in 2013 as much as 10.1% of HNW individual investments are in the alternative investments category. Global instability and over valued bond and equity markets may be partially to blame, but family offices and HNW individuals know that this asset class can give solid returns and have lower management fees than institutionally managed investments. The question is, how do you find the good deals.

For the individual investor, the option may be to belong to a local Venture Capital organisation, but the deal flow in that organisation is typically limited by a small network of connections and a geographic constraint.

According to André Voskuil of Dutch Oracle finding the deals is not as easy as you think. “My objective is to start each year knowing I may be looking at 200 deals to find the best options for my Inner Circle clients”. Not only does it sound like a lot of work, but according to Voskuil those deals are not local. “The challenge many Venture Capital organisations find is that the quality of deals is very limited in one geographic location. To service our clients properly I spend a lot of time on a plane identifying a few select opportunities around the world. Five percent of the time I may find a winner”.

Even when Voskuil believes he has found a “winner” his clients are protected by his hands on management of that investment. While the management fees are typically less than an institutional fund the management input certainly is not. That is why Dutch Oracle Inner Circle clients pay a membership fee.

Dutch Oracle has a membership option for it’s high net worth clients that ensures their focus is on their clients best interest. “We work on the money side” said Voskuil, adding “it ensures that the decisions we make are on behalf of Inner Circle clients. It helps our office keep a clear focus on our objective and when we have decisions to make regarding the investment it is for our clients benefit”.

Even winning investments have a habit of not following a chosen path. Voskuil believes acknowledging this fact up front allows for strategic input at the right time. When a deal does fluctuate from a chosen path it needs to be monitored and attention paid to the management team’s plan and course of action. If necessary the Dutch Oracle team is ready to weigh in on some hefty decision making to influence the course of action.

The hands on management style is one reason why Dutch Oracle is growing in favour with it’s clients.

]]>http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/finding-the-right-alternative-investment-deal/feed/0PORTFOLIO DIVERSITY FOR FAMILY OFFICEShttp://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/portfolio-diversity-for-family-offices/
http://dutchoracle.com/index.php/2015/09/09/portfolio-diversity-for-family-offices/#commentsWed, 09 Sep 2015 16:35:29 +0000http://dutchoracle.com/?p=16The trend amongst many family office managers is to participate in direct investments rather than managed third party investments. This global trend implies an increased workload for the family office and an opportunity for an highly skilled consultant to fill a void. Regardless of the approach taken, today’s family office needs to manage risk by[...]

]]>The trend amongst many family office managers is to participate in direct investments rather than managed third party investments. This global trend implies an increased workload for the family office and an opportunity for an highly skilled consultant to fill a void.

Regardless of the approach taken, today’s family office needs to manage risk by creating diversity within their portfolio which would otherwise be provided by a third party manager.

One of the questions we are asked by investors relates to the risk in purchasing an interest in or financing an exciting early stage or start up venture. Minimizing risk is tricky if you choose to invest anything. Most family offices and wealthy individuals know the relationship between greater risks and higher returns. Diversification is one method that can balance risk in a portfolio.

Alternative investment diversification can be created through a number of methods. Some investors attempt this themselves but increasingly seek the services of a professional independent advisor to assist them.

Diversification is the division of your investment portfolio among varied assets. It can assist risk reduction because different investments rise, plateau or reduce independently. In a well structured portfolio of direct investments, diversified asset combinations typically cancel out each other’s fluctuation, therefore reducing risk.

Family Offices can diversify within a specific asset category such as medical technology or manufacturing. To do this you could acquire interests in companies in different geographic locations. Or you can diversify your portfolio across different asset categories (eCommerce, medical technology, defense technology or automotive development for example). Or you can diversify in ventures that are spread out in timing on the development “curve”.

Clearly for your diversification strategy to be effective, improved performance while reducing risks is ideal. Typically we view two broad risk types when analysing alternative investments. These are known as unsystematic risk and systematic risk. Part of our job is to assist our inner circle clients identify and subsequently reduce these risks.

Unsystematic risk is sometimes referred to as diversifiable risk and is specific to a particular investment. It may be that an opportunity shows weakness in one or more particular areas after we have run our “Dutch Oracle Due Diligence”. Our obvious goal is to mitigate those factors and provide a sensible balance of risk versus reward profile. We cannot always remove the risk, we can however reduce it and spread the likelihood of such risks at any one time or alter the price of the risk on your behalf.

Systematic risk effects everyone at the same time and accounts for most risk most of the time. Examples such as 9/11, the collapse of the financial markets in 2008 and impending war in the Middle East affected economies, not just a business sector or industry. Investors cannot eliminate such risk as it is beyond their control, as such it is un-diversifiable risk.

‘Diversification across ‘asset classes’ or different investment sectors and markets helps reduce your risk by cushioning market tremors and removing most unsystematic risk from your portfolio. You should get rewarded appropriately for taking market risk. We can reduce portfolio risk by excluding un-systematic risk that investors are not rewarded for.

Diversification averages out asset returns within your alternative investment portfolio, it smooths potential ups and downs and it provides good protection against business risk, financial risk and volatility.